


Making Music

by Mitchellsfingerlessgloves



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Iris is a journalist, Marriage Proposal, Musician! Barry, The Flash is a pop-punk band, gratuitous social media references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-29 23:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6397498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mitchellsfingerlessgloves/pseuds/Mitchellsfingerlessgloves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Iris agreed to conduct an interview for a sick Linda, she didn't expect to meet the potential love of her life.</p>
<p>Then again, she never really does know what to expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making Music

Tuesday 17th March

It all started with a phone call.

“Iris,” Linda whined into the phone, voice low and hoarse. 

“Where are you?” Iris asked as she slipped into the seat in front of her desk, instantly logging onto her computer as she shucked off her jacket. Their office was more or less full, all of the stragglers making their way into the brightly lit room sluggishly, still half-asleep so early in the morning.

“I’m sick,” Linda said, coughing so as to reiterate her statement. “I need you to do me a teeny favour.”

Iris paused, instantly wary. “What’s that?”

“I have this interview,” she started, and Iris cut her off.

“You know I suck at that sort of thing, Linda-”

“It’s with that new band- The Flash? They’re getting big really quick, Ris. I need this. The magazine needs this. And they’ll never want to do anything with us again if we cancel the interview at such short notice.” Linda paused to cough again, and Iris could feel her resolve melting as sympathy for her best friend grew.

“What am I supposed to ask?” Iris asked, shaking her head and taking a sip from the coffee cup sitting on her desk.

“I’ve emailed you my questions,” Linda responded. “You’re the best, Iris. I definitely owe you one.”

“Yeah, you do,” Iris snarked, opening up her email to find an email from Linda, full of questions to be asked, as well as notes regarding which band member to be questioned, and how long to spend on certain topics. It was lucky that Iris had done research on the band beforehand, given she was supposed to be reviewing their debut album in a few days anyway.

“You’re the best,” Linda repeated, voice seemingly sounding even worse than previously.

“All right. You get better,” Iris said, and Linda hummed in agreement before hanging up. 

“Okay, Iris,” she muttered to herself. “Looks like you’re doing an interview.”

*

Iris was in over her head.

She’d walked into the interview room and sat with her printed sheets, flicking through the questions and running over the four members of the band in her head as she waited for them to arrive at the ‘Horns’ headquarters.

There was Oliver Queen, the straight-talking, sarcastic drummer who was already gaining a name for himself as being somewhat emotionless, but he was also married to his high school sweetheart, and clearly was deeply in love with her. Then there was Caitlin Snow, the sharp-tongued yet still sweet bassist. Cisco Ramon was the lead guitarist and a happy-go-lucky, fun-loving guy who became over-excited onstage. Finally, there was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist Barry Allen. He was quiet but charismatic, and from what Iris had seen, pretty cute.

However, she was unprepared for the band to actually traipse into the room, large smiles on all of their faces as they leaned forward to shake her hand and introduce themselves.

“Hi, I- I’m Iris,” Iris started, fumbling with her iPad as she opened up the Voice Memos app. “I know you were supposed to be meeting with Linda, but she’s a little, um, poorly, so I’ll be interviewing you guys.” She stopped, and the four musicians simply nodded. She scanned their faces, settling on Barry’s last and smiling. He had a thin face, with a delicate nose, large green eyes and plump lips- which he continued to bite down on. 

“Thank you so much for coming,” she said finally. 

“Thanks for having us,” Oliver said, unsmiling but with a friendly glint in his eyes.

Iris simply nodded and shifted forward in her seat, clearing her throat before starting.

“So the four of you were high school friends…?”

*

The interview went better than expected. Of course, she was slightly awkward, but so were the four musicians, so they almost cancelled each other out. By the time they were done, they were all laughing with each other whenever one of them stumbled over their words, and Iris felt oddly at ease with the people she didn’t know.

She couldn’t help shooting the occasional glance towards Barry, who she really hadn’t taken the time to appreciate fully. He was incredibly cute, especially highlighted by the fact that he was so nice. He was also the most awkward of the five adults, blushing whenever a question was directed at him and answering quietly, apologising whenever he started nerding out about music. Iris found it endearing.

Furthermore, although she convinced herself that it was all in her head, she could feel his eyes on her whenever she was talking to one of the other members, and he would turn and scratch the back of his neck if ever she looked in his direction.

Once the interview was finished, and the band were to make their way back to their homes (being from Central City themselves) they all traipsed out, bidding Iris ‘goodbye’ and thanking her again for having them.

“When’s the interview gonna be printed?”

Iris snapped her head up, quickly naming the recording she had made of the interview, and smiled as Barry hovered by the door, scuffing the toe of his worn Converses on the floor.

“This month’s issue comes out in eight days, so it should be available on the twenty fifth,” Iris responded, and Barry nodded once. “We could probably get you guys a copy early, if you like.”

Barry nodded again and offered Iris a crooked smile. “Thanks, Iris.”

Iris shook her head, mirroring Barry’s expression. “It’s nothing, Barry.”

Wednesday 18th March

The next day, Iris was silently handed a CD and told to ‘do what you normally do’. It turned out to be The Flash’s debut album, _Metahumans_.

Iris couldn’t help but feel excited as she set the disk which was due to come out in a month into her computer, opening up the file and plugging in her headphones. She had the whole day to write the one review, and so she could take her time, listening to the forty three minutes of unapologetic pop-punk as many times as she wanted. 

She had sent her stuff to Linda so the woman could transcribe and edit the interview where she saw fit (the least she could do after Iris did her job for her) and had received a large thank you once more from her sick friend.

Iris put her large headphones over her ears and pressed play. Instantly, she was met by chugging power chords, erratic yet accomplished drums and then soaring vocals, emotional yet controlled.

Iris couldn’t help but smile at the sounds of the music. A fan of the genre though she was, she couldn’t deny that there was something special about The Flash. Possibly it was the maturity of the lyrics, or it was the complexity of the music that was being played, but Iris found herself already starting her review, spouting praise for the new band and its first album, that was clearly going to throw them into stardom.

It was during her second listen of the album that Iris was disturbed.

She didn’t realise at first, but eventually someone’s fist rapped on her desk and she jumped up, pushing her headphones down around her neck and looking up.

Right into the eyes of one Barry Allen.

“Hey,” Iris said, face instantly splitting into a smile. “Hi, Barry.”

His own smile widened at the sound of his name, and he replied with, “Hey, Iris.”

“I’m actually reviewing your album right now,” Iris said, shifting the headphones that were secured around her neck. Barry strained forward and sure enough heard his own voice. 

“How, um- how is it?” Barry asked, eyes imploring. His lips were slightly parted. 

“Good,” Iris said simply before shaking her head. “It’s better than good. It’s awesome. Really. So far it’s a four out of five, so…” Iris had leant forward conspiratorially, cupping her hand around her mouth and smirking when Barry’s face split into a grin.

“Wow, er, thanks,” Barry said. Iris’ eyes fell onto a mole on his cheek; an imperfection that did nothing to deter from his attractiveness.

“So, why’d you come?” Iris asked, in a way she hoped didn’t sound rude. If it did, Barry ignored it, although he looked as though he himself had no idea why he was back at ‘Horns’ headquarters for a moment, before he ran a hand through the brown hair atop his head and swallowed thickly.

“Okay, would it be super weird if I, um, asked if you wanted to grab dinner or something? It’s only: you don’t know me at all- and I don’t know you- but you’re really pretty, and you seem really nice and Cisco said I should just ask you out if I liked you which, I mean, like I said: I don’t know you, but I think I could like you…” Barry trailed off and glanced down to his feet, cheeks reddening. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, and Iris couldn’t help but laugh.

The man in front of her furrowed his eyebrows and a look of hurt flashed across his face, forcing Iris to sober up immediately.

“No, no, I’m sorry,” she said earnestly, rising from her seat. She hadn’t realised how tall Barry was until she stood in front of him, craning her neck up in the same way she had when she was sitting to meet his eye. “I do. I’d love to. You’re just… Cute.”

“Cute?” Barry repeated, the right side of his mouth curling up in a smile that could have been taken for a smirk if it was on anyone else. As it was, Barry succeeded only in making himself look even more adorable, something which Iris appreciated.

“Cute,” Iris confirmed with a nod of her head. The Flash’s music was still blaring from the headphones around her neck. “How about I text you?”

She pulled out her phone and opened up her Contacts, selecting the option to make a new one and typing _Barry Allen_ and then putting the guitar and microphone emojis next to it.

Barry snickered when he saw what Iris had typed, then inputting his number methodically and smiling as he returned the device.

“I’ll text you,” Iris repeated, taking her phone back from Barry. Their fingers brushed, and she felt the man still for a moment before moving his own hand back.

“Thanks, Iris,” Barry said softly, eyes shining as he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.

“I’ve always wanted to date a rock star,” Iris said with a small smirk, and Barry laughed out loud: a full belly laugh that left Iris’ heart melting.

“I’ll talk to you soon?” Barry asked, still hopeful, as though he thought Iris was going to delete his number as soon as he left.

So the dark-skinned woman nodded, a soft smile playing on her lips as she said, “Of course, Barry.”

Wednesday 25th March

Interview by Iris West

**Horns:** So, you guys haven’t even released your first album yet, and people are already eating you up. You’ve been named best newcomers by several music magazines, and your first single, Say Anything, peaked at number eight in the charts. How does it feel to already be so successful?

**Caitlin Snow (bassist):** It’s surreal. We didn’t expect it to move so quickly at all. We’re obviously so grateful for all the opportunities we’ve had and we’re really pleased that people seem to like us!

**Oliver Queen (drummer):** Yeah, it’s great. We didn’t expect things to blow up like this, but it’s nice.

**Horns:** Now, we know that the four of you were high school friends, but how exactly did the band come about?

**Cisco Ramon (guitarist):** Barry and I became friends in freshman year. We used to catch the bus together in the afternoon, and we started talking then. 

**Barry Allen (vocalist):** Yeah, and then I met Caitlin in chemistry in sophomore year when we were lab partners.

**Caitlin:** I was family friends with Oliver’s girlfriend, and she introduced us, given Oli was in the year above. Barry, Cisco and I had been talking about starting a band because we all liked the same kind of music and played our instruments, and we needed a drummer.

**Horns:** And how about the name?

**Oliver:** It came from a nickname Barry got (chuckles). He’s a fast runner, and his gym teacher used to call him The Flash because he’d just zoom past everyone else. 

**Cisco:** Also, it sounded like The Clash, which was definitely a plus.

**Horns:** So you released your first EP a year ago and it was met with great responses. Is the new album going to sound similar?

**Barry:** Yeah, it’s got a similar feel to it. We’ve kept with the pop-punk style, that’s for sure, but there are a few tracks on there that have a different sound. There are a few, y’know, indie sounding songs on there. A few more poppy tracks with sort of big choruses, some punkier songs with cool riffs- and we tried some really cool things with loops and weird progressions and, yeah.

**Horns:** Okay, and you’ll be embarking on a tour about a month after the release. You’ll be supported by Gnarwolves and Beartooth, two bands that are already growing in popularity alongside you. Are you excited about that?

**Caitlin:** Yeah, we’re really excited. It’s a US and Canadian tour, but we’ve never really left this state and a few surrounding ones, so this is really big. The fact that so many people have bought tickets already is incredible.

**Cisco:** It’s the most amazing thing! The thought of playing some of those venues is already so exciting, and we’ve still got a while to wait! We’re so grateful to everyone who thinks we’re worth anything at all, and anyone who actually wants to see us live. Thank you.

**Horns:** And is there some sort of plan for what’s going to happen next?

**Oliver:** We’ll probably start writing the next album. That’s what this is all about, when you get down to it. We want to write and perform music, so that’s what we’re going to do.

**Horns:** People have been saying that you’re rewriting the ‘Pop-punk Rule Book’. It must be strange to know you’re that influential already?

**Barry:** We never set out to do that, but I don’t know how I feel about it! We just want to make the music we want to make. If I’m being honest, we never sat down said ‘we’re writing a pop-punk album’. We just did what we wanted and it became Metahumans.

**Horns:** Your lyrics are also a lot more mature than the typical pop-punk bands your age. You’re crossing the line of musical maturity and you haven’t even released an album yet!

**Cisco:** We never really wanted to write about that girl who never liked you back, or stupid songs about getting drunk at parties all the time or whatever. We always wanted to write relatable lyrics that told a story, or just something meaningful, you know? Not to say that those songs aren’t all fun to dance to, because they are! We just didn’t want to be that band. We wanted to convey a message, and I really think we’ve done that with Metahumans.

**The Flash’s debut album Metahumans will be released on April 3rd via DC Records. The band will be on tour the following month. Check the Gig Guide for details.**

*

**Review**

**The Flash- Metahumans**  
⅘  
_Review by Iris West_

It’s been said that pop-punk is highly oversaturated currently. With so many bands giving the well-worn genre a try, it’s difficult for bands to stand out. That’s just part of what makes The Flash so unique. The rest is their ‘wise beyond their years’ lyrics and musical maturity. All of this for a band’s debut makes it difficult to fault The Flash.

Music that’s both elaborate and clean is near-impossible to find, but The Flash manage it with finesse and strength, their competence proven time and again throughout the just over forty minute album. Comprised of two minute anthemic hits such as All Over You, to the six minute power ballad that is Nervous, Metahuman doesn’t fail to deliver. It’s got something for everyone in it.

The Flash is a band that is clearly bursting with creative and innovative ideas; ones that utilise all of the skills that the members of the band have. There are intense drums in _Through the Colour_ , an incredible minute long guitar solo in _Wild Throne_ (which is complemented by the understated but ever-present bass) and, of course, consistently crisp yet raking vocals across all tracks.

The musicality of the album is far greater than what is expected from a young pop-punk band, and leaves little to be desired. However, as previously mentioned, the lyrics that are set to the music are also highly impressive.

_As my own person I’m insignificant, insufficient  
Trying too hard to be brilliant, magnificent_

Barry Allen croons in _Wild Throne_ , instantly displaying his proficiency for words and an understanding of the world that many modern bands lack nowadays. Furthermore, lines such as: _No one’s returning to me, because alone’s where I belong apparently and I’ve hidden from the truth for so long even I don’t know what’s a lie or what’s wrong_ continue to allow for songs that are relatable but still clearly personal.

This is one of the best albums you will hear this year but, more importantly, it’s one of the most influential. With contenders such as The Flash, it’s clear that modern rock has been spun on its head, and many future albums will be referring to this as inspiration.

*

**Anonymous asks:** Anything on The Flash (new pop-punk band from Central City)? Namely Barry Allen. He’s so so hot, and I’d love to get off with him ;)  
**Banwhoresunited says:** I love that band! I think Barry’s seeing someone though? He’s been posting a lot of pictures lately with Iris West? She works for that music magazine ‘Horns’. She’s really pretty, and they seem pretty invested, so I wouldn’t try anything. Mod R

**Anonymous asks:** Anything on The Flash?  
**Bandwhoresunited says:** Oliver has been married to Felicity for three years, Barry and Iris are going strong, and Caitlin’s going out with Ronnie. Cisco’s the only one who’s single, I think. I’m pretty sure he hooks up, but not all that much. Mod J

*

_TheFlash5ever_

I'm honestly so pleased to see how supportive everyone has been about Barry and Iris! Normally with famous people there are fans that attack their girlfriends or boyfriends or whatever as though they have any say in their relationship. So I'm happy that everyone is so happy for them! They have such a nice relationship and I hope they last because they're so cute!

**502 notes**

_irisallen_barrywest_

Lol, would anyone be interested in a Barry/Iris appreciation blog. Because honestly they're such a lovely supportive couple and they deserve all the happiness. It'd probably just be a collection of pictures and maybe some fic recs (because that's of course happening) but it'd be nice to have an archive of sorts.

**431 notes**

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**1 - 20 of 83 Works in Barry Allen/Iris West**

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**1 - 20 of 245 Works in Barry Allen/Iris West**

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**1 - 20 of 781 Works in Barry Allen/Iris West**

*

Saturday 23rd June 2018

Iris had been dating Barry for just over two years. They had been two of the best years of her life because of the other man, and for that Iris was eternally grateful.

She was standing side-stage, at ten at night, watching said man performing in front of a crowd of five thousand, because Eddie had thought it funny to make her review her own boyfriend’s show. Iris didn’t mind, of course, because Barry had been gone for three months and she’d missed him terribly. The fact that not only was it the last show of the tour, but it was in their home town had made the performance even more memorable than the others, given how excited both the band and the crowd was.

The crowd erupted with applause as the final notes of the song trailed off, and Barry grinned out into the room as he slipped his guitar off his body and handed it to his tech. He shook his head as the other man offered him the next instrument, instead gripping his microphone in his hand and clearing his throat loudly.

“I just want to say thank you all so much again for coming out tonight,” Barry paused as the venue filled with screams. The other three members nodded in agreement with the man’s testament, and the brunet’s grin widened as he continued. “It’s great getting this sort of response from our hometown, so. Um, I don’t know how many of you know this, but I’ve been going out with Iris West for the past couple of years,” there was more applause at this, and Iris stilled, curious. She turned to Felicity, who was standing beside her with a similar expression on her face.

“I don’t know,” Felicity shrugged slightly when Iris fixed her with a questioning look, and both women turned back to the stage when Barry began speaking again.

“Yeah, she’s great. Amazing. And I love her a lot,” Barry turned to where Iris was standing and offered a soft smile; one which the woman instantly returned as her stomach swooped at Barry’s declaration of love.

“Come out here, Iris?” Barry gestured for the woman to join him onstage and, unthinkingly, Iris set her things down and did as he said. 

She was met by loud cheers and, so used to being behind the scenes, she ducked her head, smiling to the floor. Barry reached for her chin and knocked it gently so she was looking up at him, his eyes glinting as he fiddled with something in his pocket.

“Iris,” he said, still into the microphone although he was looking at her. “I love you. So, so much. And I’ve been wracking my brains to think of a way to do this since we started the tour and it just kind of _came to me_ this morning and so,” he paused, and several things happened. He took his hand out of his pocket, producing a deep blue, velvet box, he sank onto one knee, and the room erupted with screams.

Iris, struck-dumb, barely heard him say, “Will you marry me?”

She instantly fell on her knees on the stage, jean-clad knees hitting the wood with a thud as she nodded, “Yes!”

Barry eagerly slipped the ring onto her finger, and Iris threw her arms around him, tugging his tight towards her and slotting her head under his chin.

“I love you,” she mumbled against his skin, barely able to hear herself over all the cheers. Somehow, however, Barry managed to hear her, and returned, loud and clear, “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I love a good famous AU, and I thought of these losers and everything fell into place. Now this has been produced and honestly I really enjoyed writing it.   
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
